Quote:THE no-frills Qantas subsidiary Jetstar has mastered the art of cost-cutting to the point that it is charging would-be international flight attendants $89 for a job interview. And that does not cover the cost of the medical that follows if the interview is a success.

Four months before the launch of Jetstar International services to Asia, the airline has also refused to rule out becoming the first Qantas subsidiary to embrace the Howard Government's new industrial relations laws.

A Jetstar spokesman, Simon Westaway, said the airline had already received 1000 "expressions of interest" for the 240 long-haul crew jobs being offered.

Although the jobs were advertised last weekend, Mr Westaway said Jetstar was yet to decide what work agreements the crews would be on.

While Jetstar's domestic arm is negotiating a collective agreement with its 550 crew, there are suspicions the airline could bypass unions and draft its own Australian workplace agreements for its long-haul crews.

Unions fear those crews could earn 40 per cent less than their Qantas counterparts. Jetstar has also confirmed it will hire crews from the Asian nations it will fly to. The airline's Asian destinations include Bali, Ho Chi Minh City, Phuket, Bangkok and Osaka.

"As an international airline we will need to have a [number] of crew based in Australian and overseas ports," Mr Westaway said. "It will be very Aussie in terms of its personnel."

As for the $40 fee for a personality test and $49 for a security check - paid by applicants who get accepted for an interview - Mr Westaway said the charge applied to all Qantas Group cabin crew jobs.

"It's a cost-recovery process for Jetstar. We're making nothing on this," he said.

Jetstar also requires cabin crew to cover the cost of a medical, tooth and chest x-ray, along with a chickenpox and hepatitis inoculation if they score a job - an outlay of several hundred dollars.

But Mr Westaway said there was nothing untoward in the process. "Pilots can pay tens of thousands of dollars for individual training before they join an airline," he said.

Wow JQ really has really used JH's new IR laws. A very stupid thing especially if you don't get the job. But then I guess you can claim it as tax deduction.

Has this type of process ever been used by other airlines around the world??

Wow! And they haven't started to earn a cent yet! Imagine when the $hit hits the fan... I wonder how loyal they're going to be to their company, and what sort of working conditions they're going to have to endure, ...as well as the attrition rates for Jetstar International employees. I won't be flying this airline: I can already sense what a crappy big mess it's all going to be.

One question about Jetstar International: What are the possibilities of Qantas doing an "Iberia->Audeli" with Jetstar International?

I was successful in applying for FA with QF back in 2002, but SARS and the like meant my class was never called up to positions. We still had to pay for medical, and if you were not a QF employee already, there was a small cost associated with the police check as well.

This is nothing really new - and to be quite honest, there are so many "wanabees" when it comes to flying - if this helps the recruitment process by getting rid of people who are time wasters, then it's not a bad thing.

In terms of the IR laws, I hardly see this to be any different when Virgin Blue started in Australia and gained greater concessions from the Unions for allowing ground staff to also work as flight attendants at short notice - one of several concessions the unions would not give to Qantas. Thus, Jetstar International was always going to be a catalyst for accessing more preferrential work practices than what Qantas mainline can currently achieve with its 20+ unions company wide.

At the end of the day, you have an industry trying to turn a profit when jet fuel is at record highs. Any other company in any other industry faced with unforseen external issues such as this would also have to take action to survive. It is no different to many companies placing IT and call centre jobs in India, the Phillippines and Bangladesh to save costs on labour. Transformation of industry is a sad but true fact of the 21st century and is not going to go away anytime soon.

We have to pay for our own 'Criminal Record Check' at BA as well when we first start. I think it cost about GBP15.00. BA pays for all training, uniform, medicals, innoculations etc.

Quoting Onedude (Reply 5):In terms of the IR laws, I hardly see this to be any different when Virgin Blue started in Australia and gained greater concessions from the Unions for allowing ground staff to also work as flight attendants at short notice - one of several concessions the unions would not give to Qantas

Seriously?! Does that mean you can work as groundstaff on monday and then fly on tuesday and work as groundstaff again on wednesday?

Quoting EE-Kay (Reply 2):I wonder how loyal they're going to be to their company, and what sort of working conditions they're going to have to endure, ...as well as the attrition rates for Jetstar International employees. I won't be flying this airline: I can already sense what a crappy big mess it's all going to be.

Well with introduction of these new industrial relations laws release by the current govt. it plays into JQ's hand as well as QF and with less help from the unions
But like I said these expenses they have incurred can be claimed as a tax deduction thats if you get the job